However, the police commissioner had a serious expression on his face as he said, “Merlin, when something big happens that cannot be solved, someone always has to take the blame for it. You have been working in the New York Police Department for so many years, and it is impossible that you do not understand this. I don’t want you to take the blame for this either, but if you continue to remain stubborn, I can only apologize to you in advance, then!”Merlin gritted his teeth and looked at the other party. Even though he was filled with hatred and resentment in his heart, he knew that the police commissioner was telling the truth.In truth, the New York Police Department was actually still very protective of their own people most of the time, and the higher management would definitely find a way to solve problems for the sake of the department’s overall image.However, the New York Police Department hadn’t always been able to handle everything. Over the years, the New York Police De
The conversation with the police commissioner only lasted for a short ten minutes, but Merlin felt as if he had suddenly aged ten years.He was well aware of the mayor’s intention for him to retire early, and even if he had not pushed the blame onto him directly, in the eyes of the public, he would still be the one taking the fall for it.Letting Merlin retire early was a punishment for him.When the time came, they would then exaggerate Merlin’s contribution to New York and subtly relay the message to the people that Merlin was considered someone who had dedicated his life and career to the New York citizens for so many years even though he had not done a good job this time. It could also be counted as hard work and now, Merlin already knew that he was wrong, and he had taken the initiative to request for an early retirement. So, everyone should see how hard he had worked for New York for most of his life and not be too hard on him.Generally speaking, people usually accepted this
Christian sighed and spoke up as he said, “In truth, you shouldn’t have investigated those murderers...”Merlin said helplessly, “What’s done is already done. It’s too late to talk about it now. Furthermore, my character will not allow me to turn a blind eye to this kind of crime that uses violence against crime.”Christian hummed and asked him, “So, what are your next plans?”Merlin said, “I’m going back to the police station to hand over my work now, and I will start my retirement officially tomorrow.”Having said that, he remembered something and said, “Is your father doing better now? Why don’t I go over to Los Angeles to see him? He was really seriously ill, and it’s really unjustified if I do not go to see him.”Christian said, “You don’t have to come to Los Angeles anymore. My mother wants to go to New York to watch Miss Golding’s concert, and she requires that all of us children will also have to be present. My father was convinced by her, and we will be going together at
The next day happened to be a Saturday.Claire had already set her heart on going to New York to see the concert and so, she proposed to Charlie that she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get to New York earlier as she wanted to take a stroll around New York, go to the concert at night, and then stay in New York for the night before strolling around New York for another day again tomorrow before they came back on Sunday night.Charlie also felt that his wife had been working too hard in her classes and so, he naturally wanted to take this opportunity to let his wife relax and unwind.Therefore, Charlie agreed to Claire’s proposal without any hesitation and asked someone to help him book a suite at Shangri-La in New York. After the both of them had had breakfast, they drove to New York.According to Claire’s previous knowledge of New York, Charlie took her to Times Square first and then to see the famous Statue of Liberty. While the two of them were touring around,
When Charlie heard this, he could not help but frown slightly. He had indeed had this vague feeling that his grandmother’s family might come to support and cheer for Quinn, but he did not expect that his guess would really be right.In order to avoid any direct contact with his grandmother’s family, Charlie had not wanted to attend the concert.But on one hand, he didn’t want to make his wife sad, and on the other hand, there was a VIP room. Therefore, he hadn’t taken it too seriously. Now, when he heard that Lady Acker was here with Lord Acker, he spoke up and said, “The visitor is a guest and so, Miss Golding, you should be nice and entertain them.”Quinn said, “Master Wade, I think so too, but there is another situation. The two elderlies are old and have a rather special status. I’m afraid that it would not really be appropriate if I were to let them watch my performance in the auditorium. So, my idea is to arrange for them to be in the VIP room so that the two elderlies can
Claire seemed to understand Charlie’s Feng Shui theory. She had always felt as though it made sense, but she also felt that it was a little mysterious. However, she was in awe of the things that she did not understand most of the time and so, she did not ask any questions. Meanwhile, Charlie, who was next to her, was already feeling a little nervous and uneasy at this time.He was not worried that he would be exposed in front of his grandfather’s family at night, but he couldn’t help but have a nostalgic feeling.Although he had had some complaints about what his grandfather’s family had done back then, subconsciously, he still had a blood relationship with his mother’s natal family. Tonight would be the first time that he would be so close to them in more than twenty years, and it was inevitable for him to feel nervous.Meanwhile, Charlie’s grandparents and several of their children had arrived at Ark Building in Manhattan.As they took the elevator all the way up to the t
There were many insurance and financial services companies worldwide. However, only a handful of them could afford to build a skyscraper in Manhattan, where land was expensive. Ark Group was among said handful. The Acker family started their business in Los Angeles, but they grew bigger after they expanded to Silicon Valley and New York.Many years ago, Ashley invested in a large number of companies with great potential in Silicon Valley at a very low price. In order to better help these investments in their capital planning, the Acker family went to the financial center of the United States, New York, and built the core of their family’s business there. The Acker family had many subsidiaries under their group, which also included investment companies. However, Ark Group remained the Acker family’s core business. After the establishment of Ark Group, Ashley merged her investment funds in Silicon Valley into Ark Group. Ark Group suddenly became the country’s largest Internet vent
Everyone was stunned by Keith’s sudden anger, and looked at each other in dismay.They knew Keith could never get over it. He couldn’t understand why Curtis insisted on returning to Eastcliff. The Acker family was powerful enough to keep him and were sincere towards him, yet Curtis staunchly refused to stay. Even so, everyone knew how egoistical Keith could get. When dealing with Curtis, he was always arrogant and unyielding. He was akin to a superior eager to poach a good talent. He was willing to pay ten million or more for a talent who could only make one million in another company.In his view, the other party had no reason to reject him.He never imagined that Curtis would be unwilling to accept his offer and ended up rejecting him. The thought frustrated and infuriated Keith to no end.Initially, Keith admired Curtis very much. Curtis’s family might be less significant than the Acker family, but Curtis had potential in him. He could be better than Keith’s three sons combi
Though Jacob had nothing going for him, he had always had a huge ego, and he had never once admitted that he would lose to anyone in the presence of his wife and daughter.That was why both Elaine and Claire were shocked when he suddenly openly admitted that he was a piece of shit in front of them. They had never heard such a thing from him in the decades they had lived with him!In fact, Jacob himself was reluctant to insult himself like that.However, Charlie told him repeatedly that he absolutely must say it before he came here—because Charlie was dead sure that this line was the key to getting over this impasse, and it truly did put this crisis to rest.Even as Jacob finished, his heart was bleeding as he felt like he had just put his pride on the floor and trampled all over it until it was crushed to oblivion. Even though it was to clear any suspicion Elaine held toward him, to call himself a piece of shit—to say it himself that his beloved woman would think him beneath her,
Before Elaine knew it, she was reading the website she had just read again, and she did indeed find Yolden's name on it.With that, everything Charlie had said snapped together into a perfect chain of logic.Seeing the troubled look on her face, Charlie quickly added, "I'm not going to lie—Dad told me right away when he was told Matilda was getting married. We even discussed if we should tell you, and now you know why." "Matilda is doing so well for herself and got such an amazing husband, and they've picked Shangri-La's Sky Garden—something an average Joe could never hope to reach. And since she invited our whole family and not just us, Dad had to really think about it.""Eventually, he told me to hide it from you or it'd leave you devastated, so none of us said anything. We just didn't think you'd find that invitation and then end up having a big fight about it."Sighing, Charlie then continued, "But if you really want to go, we can go together for their wedding to put your min
Bitterness swelled in Elaine's heart as she really didn't think that Matilda was doing so well for herself.The fact that Matilda was worth millions alone made her far superior.At the same time, she was also rejoicing that she had never actually met Matilda. If Matilda asked how she was doing directly, how would she respond?In the end, Matilda was no Hannah Queen.Elaine would actually feel accomplished if she compared herself to Hannah.On the other hand, Matilda eclipsed Elaine in every way—she was more beautiful, kind, smart, and knowledgeable. Even her figure left Elaine dead in the water!It was as pointless as comparing a hen to a peacock!Whenever she thought of her, she could comfort herself that she had stolen her man even if she couldn't measure up in any way.But now, Jacob was completely insignificant to Matilda while Elaine still treated Jacob like a trophy.Even as a sense of inferiority seized her, Charlie sighed. "Come on, you should understand where Jacob is
"Exactly!"Charlie agreed, striking the metal while it was hot. "To be honest, the years Matilda spent in the States would be wasted if she was actually still interested!" "She's a Wall Street veteran who'd definitely have met so many successful men! Why would she be interested in a loser like Jacbo Wilson? It's not like she returned from the States after thirty years to help the poor, don't you agree?"Charlie then finished with a sigh. "The way I see it? You're the only one who'd be interested in him."Jacob heard that from behind the wall and was left absolutely fuming and humiliated.He was the only one who knew that Matilda had come back for him—even if she was worth millions now.However, he just didn't have the spine to divorce Elaine and get together with Matilda.He presumed that it was no rush and that he could just give Elaine the silent treatment—who knew, she might just give in and ask for a divorce herself, and then, he would have no issues getting together with M
"Her real lover?!" Elaine exclaimed in shock. "What are you talking about?"Charlie put on a serious face as she said, "Matilda came back to Oskia for her one true love, who is now her fiance. His name is Yolden Hart, a top economist who's now a lecturer at Aurous Hill University, who was invited all the way from the States. He's a professional manager and used to work in Wall Street, so he'd be qualified to be a CEO in any Fortune 500 company…""Professional manager?" Elaine pouted. "That still means he's a wage slave!"Charlie laughed. "Don't underestimate professional managers now. Just look at Apple Inc.'s CEO—the man earns around a hundred million USD per year, and that's over seven hundred million in Oskian dollars!"Elaine was left gaping, unable to imagine how a wage slave could earn so much.At the same time, Charlie continued, "To be fair, Professor Hart wouldn't earn that much, but 50 million per year is still no sweat for him. Do you get the amount of money we're talki
Elaine appeared taken aback, and she promptly demanded, "You've met Matilda too?!"It was only then that Claire realized she had let the cat out of the bag, and she suddenly didn't know what to say. "Oh… Uh… Mom… I, uh… didn't?"Nonetheless, Elaine was suddenly pressing her menacingly, "If you've never met her, how would you know she's a serious person?!"As Claire stayed silent, Elaine broke down in tears. "No… You're lying to me too! Aren't you?!"While Claire was left at a loss of how she should salvage this mess, Charlie suddenly entered and said, "Claire didn't—but I did.""What?!" Elaine was left staring at Charlie, stunned.Still, she soon demanded, "Y-You've met Matilda?! Did Jacob take you with him to see her?""Yes," Charlie admitted, nodding.Elaine snapped right then, and she bellowed, "Then why didn't you tell me?! To think that I've always done right by you, treating you like my own son, but you wouldn't tell me that Jacob is cheating on me! Y-You disappoint me!"
Jacob certainly left Charlie speechless—the man might get kicked out of the house, but he was more worried about his car.Sighing in exasperation, he told Jacob, "Look, if it fails, I won't be able to get you a nice place, let alone leave the Cullinan with you."Jacob blurted out, "But why—""Don't forget—I'm still living in this house even if you're gone!" Charlie explained, his expression dead serious. "If I let you have a nice place and the Cullinan, God knows how terrible a grudge your wife would hold against me. I need to have a sense of self-preservation too!""If I got you a rundown apartment, I could at least defend myself even if she gets upset about that. I mean, I can't let you sleep in the streets, can I? Claire and I would be guilty of abandoning our elders."Seeing the serious look on Charlie's face, Jacob breathed a long sigh as he clapped him on the shoulder, groaning mournfully, "Oh, I get it. I wouldn't want to upset Elaine if I were in your shoes too…"Charlie
Charlie sighed. "I told you it'd blow up, Dad, but you had to doubt me.""I wasn't doubting you," Jacob promptly defended himself. "I thought I might catch a lucky break—"Charlie cut him short, "Fair enough. Then, how are you going to handle this? I can try to stop Mom from going to that wedding and prevent her from getting in the hall even if she went, but what's going to happen to the both of you? Do you want a divorce or do you want to stay with her?"The light in Jacob's faded as he shrugged and sighed. "If I could divorce her, I would've—and I would be living happily with Matilda now. What company would I have if I did it now? Do you think Elaine would let me stay in Thompson First, with that attitude of hers?""In the end, I'd be chased out without a place to stay, and I can't suffer the humiliation of moving back with my mom and brother, can I? Hell, they might not even take me back!""So, that's a no?" Charlie pressed.Jacob smiled wryly. "At my age, even if I could, I w
Hearing that Elaine was threatening suicide, Claire exclaimed urgently, "Take me to her now!"The traffic police officer quickly nodded. "Come on!"As the traffic police officer quickly led Claire to Elaine, Charlie arrived just then and gave chase after leaving the luggage by the entrance.Stopping them, he asked, "Excuse me, officer—where's the gentleman who came with Madam Parker? May I see him?""And who are you?" The traffic police officer asked."I'm his son-in-law," Charlier replied. "I was thinking that while my wife talks to her mom, I can talk to my father-in-law, make peace, and take them both home.""Oh, that'd be great!"The traffic police officer exclaimed and quickly beckoned at a colleague, "Come over. Take this gentleman to Jacob Wilson!""Okay!" The other traffic police officer was also quite enthusiastic.Charlie entered the room where Jacob was first, immediately seeing a disfigured Jacob taking deep puffs of his cigarette.Another traffic police officer w